THERESA May has been handed a strict nine-day deadline to re-sell her Chequers Plan to the European Union (EU), as ministers warned they will ‘demand a Plan B’ if Brussels continues to refuse to accept her terms of exit.

Last week, European Council President Donald Tusk claimed the UK still has a chance to negotiate the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU and avoid a “no-deal” scenario

It followed a disastrous EU27 summit in Salzburg in September, which saw member states such as France and Germany unanimously denounced her contested Chequers white paper.

But now, following growing unrest in the cabinet over her plans and the threat of a snap general election, ministers have warned Mrs May that a plan B is expected if she fails to make headway in the next round of negotiations, due to take place on October 16.

Fittingly October 16 is the anniversary of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig – Europe’s biggest ever battle prior to World War I where Napoleon's forces were defeated by Prussia, Austria and Russia.

Related articles

Brexit talks have reached an impasse over the Irish border issue (Image: GETTY/EPA)

Mr Tusk commented: “I think there is a chance to have an accord by the end of the year.”

Meanwhile, leading Brexiteers such as Jacob Rees-Mogg offered a compromise by agreeing to have EU officials based at UK ports to check cross-border cargos.

Brexiteers would be happy for this to happen, if it paved the way for a looser free trade deal than the PM's Chequers plan envisages.

In a column for the Sunday Telegraph, Breixteer and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith wrote: “We can conduct regulatory and customs checks together in a way that respects the EU’s single market, by building on systems already in place at the channel ports.”